There have been a lot of books on synthesizers published in the last decade or two, like Mark Vail’s deeply researched Vintage Synthesizers [Tape Op#45] and the excellent Bjooks series (with beautiful photography and design), including Push Turn Move. In Machines, synth populizer Jean-Michel Jarre...
My studio is a one room setup. Most of the work I do there is mixing, but I also track a fair amount of overdubs, and for projects on a slim budget I'll even do full sessions there. I enjoy the open feeling of working this way, and communication is easy without using a talkback system. When...
When I reviewed the Portico II Master Buss Processor hardware for Tape Op#89 in 2012, I was fortunate to get my hands on one just as I was mastering a modern rock album that I had tracked and mixed. The producer and I were immediately struck by the MBP’s ability to increase the power, energy, and...
What a cool idea: a microphone housing that has both a ribbon element and a large diaphragm condenser perfectly aligned to eliminate phase issues. It is no secret that I like JZ Microphones, especially their BH-1 Black Hole LDC [Tape Op#71]. I use that mic on just about everything from kick drum to...
It was early 2020 when my intent to work more in my new home studio became a necessity. A couple of years later, I agreed to track some emerging artists with their guitar amps. I quickly learned that a garbage amp with nice electronics feeding it is still a garbage amp and that the benefits of...
I am ready for an upgrade in studio headphones. I’ve been using Audio-Technica ATH-M50s [Tape Op#63] for many years, and they have been a trusty companion. But I’m looking for wider imaging, extended frequency response, and an easily replaceable headband. After some research, I found that the...
Full disclosure out of the gate – Sam Winston, who is Squarewave Industries, has been a good friend for many years. He brought the initial breadboard version of the Comptroller to my studio a few years ago to play around with component values as he was putting the initial circuit together. Sam has...
I've been doing this for more than 30 years, and one thing I've noticed is that we spend a lot of time talking about the items that almost never ruin a session, such as microphones, compressors, plug-ins, and converters. Meanwhile, the gear that's actually capable of bringing an...
I’ve been a fan of Roswell Pro Audio’s mics since they sprouted from the mind of Matt McGlynn, and even prior to that, with his MicParts kits and mic mod site (I built and reviewed their original 12-251 kit back in Tape Op#128). The Roswell Aztec is the logical evolution of both the MicParts 12-251...
I was setting up my drums at a live gig, and I saw the sound engineer slip a thin baffle in front of the guitar amp to reduce the volume out front. I was checking it out, and he offered to place one on the backside of this open-back amp too, which was still kind of blasting me on the drums. Whoa!...
Many years ago, my pal – Tape Op contributor and reFuse Software owner Leigh Marble – came out with Lowender, one of the first subharmonic synthesizer plug-ins that worked well and was easy to use. Tchad Blake [Tape Op#16, 133] popularized it, and countless productions benefitted. Lowender is still...
When it comes to websites and apps that claim to address one piece of the music-making puzzle, musicians in 2026 are spoiled for choice. We're inundated with seemingly never-ending file-sharing sites, social networks for musicians, collaboration tools, and methods for expanding a fan base....
There are so many recreations of classic microphone designs, it can sometimes be confusing. I have used inexpensive copies of Neumann U 87s that sounded pretty good and pricier ones that sounded awful. Some looked classic and sounded terrible, and others that were a bit rough-looking sounded...
An analysis and repair tool, the Fixate:Midrange plug-in seeks to clear the mud, repair missing lows, adjust frequencies that build up too much, and improve whatever sources are put through it. I jumped in and did some mucking – and un-mucking – around.
I started with Automatic mode, where the...
Both of these macOS-only applications perform audio plug-in management functions, but with varying options and pricing. I hate doing this, but I'm going to discuss two very similar products in a single review. I'll start by stating that both of these apps work really well, and I enjoyed...
The mad scientists at UnderToneAudio have recreated their legendary (and rare!) MPEQ-1 rack hardware as an affordable plug-in. To understand my excitement, here's some history and context: The original hardware MPEQ-1 was a single-channel-strip Class A mic preamp/DI/EQ, which itself was a...
This is my dream mixer. It sounds quiet and neutral when I want it to be but full of musical character if I choose to push it hard. It has the most extensive routing features in its class. It took two years for Paul Wolff to design. Up until then, Paul had sold his modular Fix Console under his Fix...
I’m hesitant to even start out by calling this a “reverb,” as it’s almost a whole system in and of itself. MNTRA Instruments has teamed up with Outer Echo and GPU Audio to bring Living Sky, a spatial reverb powered by your computer's GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) as opposed to your CPU. The...
Made in collaboration with John Snyder at Electronic Audio Experiments, Big Time is a new stereo hybrid delay unit that blends the best of those analog input/output stages in old-school digital delay units with a highly controllable digital delay effect. Chase Bliss describes its sound as "the...
We are all familiar with the square, gold-colored folded tweeters in many popular studio monitors. Klaus Heinz, who founded HEDD Audio, spent decades refining the concept into the compact AMT (air motion transformer) designs familiar to studio engineers. HEDD now produces several monitor and...